Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumers

By Raja Rajamannar

Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing Officer of Mastercard, shares breakthrough, frontier strategies to navigate the challenges that result from today’s unprecedented disruption.

As technology has continually evolved in the last several decades, marketing has had to change with it, evolving through four significant stages that build on the strategies and tools of the previous era. What happens next in the fifth stage, or Fifth Paradigm, will not be an evolution, but a revolution.

Almost everything about how marketing is done today, including the very notion of a brand itself, will require a complete re-imagination.

As Chief Marketing Officer of Mastercard, one of the world’s most recognizable and decorated brands, Raja Rajamannar shares the forward-thinking ways all businesses must rethink their entire marketing landscape to remain relevant and be successful.

In Quantum Marketing, readers will:

• Understand the evolution of marketing and how to be at the forefront of future change.
• Get clarity on the right marketing strategies and tactics to pursue amidst an ever-evolving industry.
• Achieve breakthroughs in innovative thinking to compete in modern business. 
• Gain perspective from top marketers across industries.

Quantum Marketing is for all business people who seek to understand how rapidly marketing is evolving, what marketers are doing to get ready for this shift, and what the new world will look like for companies, consumers, and society as the race to develop revolutionary marketing strategies reaches a whole new level.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Feb 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781400224036

Raja Rajamannar

Raja Rajamannar is a globally recognized marketer, an innovative thinker, a transformational business leader, and a highly successful brand builder. Starting as a marketing trainee, he worked his way up through different companies, industries, and geographies around the world to become the global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Mastercard, which he has built into an iconic brand that is now rated amongst the top twelve brands globally. He was named Global Marketer of the Year by the World Federation of Advertisers, as Forbes Top 5 World's Most Influential CMOs, Business Insider’s 25 Most Innovative CMOs in the World, Ad Week’s Top 10 Most Tech Savvy CMOs in the World, Billboard’s 2018 Top Branding Power Player, and Campaign Power 100, and he is an inductee into The CMO Club Hall of Fame. He was elected as the President of the World Federation of Advertisers and is also on the board of directors of PPL Corporation (a Fortune 500 company).

Book preview

Praise for Quantum Marketing

"Quantum Marketing is a masterful guide to navigating marketing’s biggest disruption yet. As one of the foremost marketing leaders in the world, Raja offers extraordinary insights and perspectives and pragmatic pathways to pursue. A must-read book for all business executives."

—Keith A. Grossman, President, Time

Raja offers a clear roadmap for marketers to become stronger stewards of brand and growth amid this paradigm shift. Insightful and eye-opening, this is a must-read for any marketer who does not want to become obsolete in today’s fast-paced world.

—Michelle Peluso, SVP of Digital Sales and CMO, IBM

"Quantum Marketing is a deeply knowledgeable and thought-provoking book, seminal to the times. Raja, as a leading global practitioner of marketing, offers practicable insights to reimagine marketing for the dramatic transformation that is underway. This is a must-read book for all marketing practitioners and students."

—Harris Diamond, Chairman and CEO, McCann WorldGroup

Raja, who is a cutting-edge marketer, offers not only a fascinating view into the Fifth Paradigm of marketing but also shows how to play deftly in it and win. This is an outstanding book, and it will prove to be a landmark in the world of marketing!

— Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Consumer Banking and Payments, Barclays

Raja offers a very different, fresh, and audacious look into the future of marketing. This must-read book makes you realize that it is indeed time to reset the button and take the quantum leap forward.

—Stephan Loerke, CEO, WFA

For any marketer or business leader, Raja does a great job at preparing us for the future of marketing. A must-read for anyone who wants to be a contemporary leader.

—Pedro Earp, CMO, Anheuser-Busch InBev

For those looking to embrace, not avoid, the tough questions from their CEOs and CFOs, this book is a must-read. Raja connects the dots for today’s quantum marketers looking to unlock brand impact and outcomes in the Fifth Paradigm because, simply put, what got you here won’t get you there.

—Wendy Clark, Global CEO, Dentsu International

"In this ‘more than a must-read’ book, Raja not only presents the critical facets of marketing in the most elegant, eloquent, and clarifying language, but he also helps the reader to truly understand how to harness the powerful force of marketing and its impact for brands and society. Quantum Marketing will make you realize marketing can make the impossible into the very possible."

—Bob Liodice, CEO, ANA

"The strength of Quantum Marketing is in demonstrating how marketers are integral to business success. By exploring marketing’s fusion of art, science, and craft, Raja guides marketers to be thoughtful practitioners of their work. It’s packed with interesting, practical examples of how to integrate brand building with the data and analytic rigor necessary to drive business growth. An inspiring book full of optimism and hope!"

—Leanne Cutts, Group Chief Marketing Officer, HSBC

"Quantum Marketing brilliantly describes the tremendous challenges facing future CMOs and how to fundamentally rethink marketing principles and frameworks. A must-read for marketers and business leaders who want to drive growth and thrive in the future."

—Ravi Dhar, Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management

"In Quantum Marketing, Raja provides a clear roadmap for marketers to leapfrog into the future. He peels back the hype and gives pragmatic guidance. An excellent read!"

— Zena Arnold Srivatsa, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, Kimberley Clark

Friends, buckle your seatbelts. This, as Raja offers, is an innovative view of the new Quantum Marketer mindset, which is both daunting and yet exhilarating. A must-read for anyone willing to compete for and then succeed in a top marketing job today.

—Greg Welch, Spencer Stuart

One of the greatest marketing leaders of our time, Raja has created this important book to help us prepare for the future of Quantum Marketing. The timing could not be more perfect for this extremely insightful treatise.

—Susan Vobejda, CMO, The Trade Desk

This is the closest anyone could get to spelling out a replicable, successful playbook for the modern marketer in a world where the only constant is change. Raja shares a holistic framework that would help anyone rise to the quantum marketing challenge of tomorrow.

—Anda Gansca, Founder and CEO, Knotch

"Raja, clearly one of the great thought leaders in marketing today, makes a compelling case for a new marketing framework and provides guidance on how to make the most of the opportunities this new environment has to offer. Concise and immensely practical, Quantum Marketing is the book to read (and reread) as we head into 2021."

— Gerhard Fourie, Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy, Aston Martin

Raja’s bold and candid observations, mixed with his relentless can-do attitude, is truly a breath of fresh air. This book is a rallying cry for all senior marketers to design and implement a new playbook that will finally acknowledge the power of marketing to drive business growth. Relevant, timely, and actionable!

—Nikki Mendonça, Global Managing Director of Software and Platforms Industry, Accenture

"Quantum Marketing should have a place on every executive’s desk and in every business-school classroom. Raja, one of the most influential marketing leaders of our time and a foremost thinker who is a staunch proponent of the purpose imperative, expertly articulates why and how marketers need to ‘reinvent their entire approach’ for marketing’s now and next, and provides a down-to-earth playbook, peppered with colorful anecdotes from his own journey. A must-read for all students of the marketing profession as well as business leaders negotiating the challenges and opportunities of a changing world."

—Jenny Rooney, Communities Director and Chair of the CMO Network, Forbes

It is rare to find someone like Raja, with such breadth and depth of knowledge, insights and global experiences, so there is no one better to fuse both the art and science of marketing. Anyone trying to transform their business needs to read this book.

—Steven Wolfe Pereira, CEO and Cofounder, Encantos

"Raja is a master of his craft. He brings a new level of depth and dimension to be effective in this ever-changing world. Quantum Marketing is the most complete and masterful articulation of what marketing is and how best it should function in the twenty-first century."

—Nick Drake, VP of Global Marketing, Google

Never before have we seen the fiber of traditional wisdom, modern technology, and a true understanding of the consumer spun together masterfully by a great practitioner of marketing—a must-read for any and all!

—Pranav Yadav, Founder and CEO, Neuro-Insight US Inc.

"Quantum Marketing gives us new frameworks for more scientific and technologically savvy approaches, enabling brands to be connected, relevant, and frictionless across the full consumer experience in the future that lies ahead. A superb book on how marketing can drive more meaningful relationships with consumers!"

—Janet Balis, Marketing Practice Leader, EY Consulting

Raja’s extensive experience as a GM, President, and leading CMO clearly sets this phenomenal marketing leadership resource apart from all others. His insatiable quest in always staying ahead of technology and being able to connect all marketing activities to demonstrate and drive business results are critical skills for every marketing leader today and tomorrow.

—Nadine Dietz, Chief Community Officer, Adweek

In this thought-provoking book, Raja provides a lens into the future of how marketing will continue to evolve and what it would take to be successful. This is a must-read book for every business executive.

—Sunil Gupta, Edward Carter Professor of Business, Harvard Business School

"Quantum Marketing displays the thought leadership of a marketing visionary, the practicality of a leading global marketer, and the storytelling of a creative genius. This book will give every practitioner and student the unique vantage point of a marketing guru."

—Devika Bulchandani, President, McCann North America

© 2021 Raja Rajamannar

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by HarperCollins Leadership, nor does HarperCollins Leadership vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

ISBN 978-1-4002-2403-6 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-2395-4 (HC)

Epub Edition December 2020 9781400224036

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020948516

Printed in the United States of America

20 21 22 23 LSC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that the endnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication

Dedicated to my spiritual guru

Sri Parakala Swamy

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword by Ajay Banga, Executive Chairman, Mastercard

Preface

Chapter 1: Marketing’s Journey: From Antiquity to Algorithms

Chapter 2: The Fifth Paradigm

Chapter 3: Reset the Mission of Marketing

Chapter 4: The Data Dilemma

Chapter 5: AI: The Ultimate Propellant of Quantum Marketing

Chapter 6: Technology’s Big Bang

Chapter 7: Unblocking the Blockchains

Chapter 8: The Sciences behind Marketing

Chapter 9: All the Senses

Chapter 10: Loyalty Transformed

Chapter 11: Advertising (As We Know It) Is Dead!

Chapter 12: We Are Not Consumers, We Are People

Chapter 13: Marketing to Businesses and Machines

Chapter 14: Power in Partnerships

Chapter 15: Purpose as an Imperative

Chapter 16: Ethics and Brand Karma

Chapter 17: Marketing through Crisis

Chapter 18: The Quantum CMO

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

About the Author

quan·tum

/'kwän(t)əm/

Adjective

An extreme, abrupt change . . . as in quantum leap or quantum change

New theories to explain when classical theories break down . . . as in quantum physics or quantum mechanics

New methods and devices that cross existing, known limits . . . as in quantum computing or quantum computers or quantum marketing

quantum marketing

The world is changing with such unprecedented speed and disruption that classical marketing theories, strategies, and practices are failing. Quantum Marketing is the new framework for that brave new world of tomorrow. Here, every aspect of classical marketing is challenged and frontline strategies are outlined for marketers to thrive.

Foreword

Ajay Banga,

Executive Chairman, Mastercard

There is one word that comes to mind when I think about marketing these days: trust.

Every day in every way, companies must earn the trust of the people we serve. We do that through our products and our workforce, how we support our clients, our partners, and society, and the ways we act and interact at every single touchpoint. Building that trust and reinforcing it—that’s what I think about 24/7. How that trust carries over to and is conveyed through a million touchpoints that sometimes don’t feel directly connected to us—well, that’s what Raja thinks about 24/7.

I have known Raja, professionally and personally, for more than twenty years. In that time, I’ve seen two forces drive how he approaches his work. The first comes from the fact that he is a marketer who is also a business leader—or a business leader who is also a marketer. No matter how you or I choose to phrase it, the fact is that these two perspectives sit side by side for him and drive a relentless effort to connect brand results to business outcomes. For him, it’s not just about goal setting and aligning objectives, it’s about actually driving business.

The second is the need to constantly push the boundaries of marketing toward new frontiers. His eyes are always on the horizon of what’s coming next—smaller screens, voice-activated assistants, automated cars, you name it—and how that will shift consumer behaviors and how businesses will need to show up in those environments. And, of course, how our presence in these emerging environments can maintain trust and, furthermore, drive business results.

In our time together at Mastercard, I’ve watched him apply these driving forces in ways that have transformed our marketing as well as the field of marketing in general. And no matter how crazy some of his ideas may have seemed at first mention (dropping our name from the logo, building out multisensory branding, or sponsoring eSports, to name but a few), I’ve come to find that they are always—always—built on a solid foundation of science and executed with incredible art and consideration. Perhaps that is why Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management have each written case studies based on the work he has led here, and they are now being taught at various management schools around the world.

In my own career, I have seen marketers of all types, and I know what marketers can accomplish for their companies. I have also seen the plight of marketers when they are confronted with hard business questions, as well as their empowerment when they know how to connect the dots between what they do and what the company needs. I, like Raja, believe that massive changes are already underway and the best way to navigate them as marketers who drive business results will be to keep connecting those dots. I also believe this is what Raja offers us here: a way to read the horizon, understand the paradigm shifts, and build out a flexible framework to help us all move forward as trusted brands.

Quantum Marketing is a thought-provoking read for any business executive, whether they consider themselves marketers or not.

Preface

My first experience with marketing was as a young boy growing up in India when I used to go with my mother to the market to buy groceries for the family. We would announce we were going marketing. For us, the terms marketing and shopping were interchangeable. The word marketing got etched into my mind, and I would associate it with the joys of things to buy, special deals, free samples, fairs and exhibitions, and so on. This was marketing through a young consumer’s perspective.

Years later, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a prestigious graduate school, the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. There I began studying real marketing, and when I graduated with my MBA, I thought I knew a lot about it. And by the book, I did. So imagine my shock and surprise when I was accosted during the first week on my first job by a director of Asian Paints, the company I joined straight out of college, who asked me: Raja, we are a market leader already, and we didn’t even have a marketing department until now. So, help me understand. What exactly does marketing do?

It may have been the best business question I’ve ever heard. And it’s among the questions I ask myself often: What role is marketing playing here? What should it be doing? Where is it going? And more importantly, how far can it go?

Currently, marketing is in a crisis. A large number of blue-chip marketing companies are fragmenting the 4 Ps of marketing (price, place, product, and promotion) and distributing them across multiple areas outside of marketing. Without the 4 Ps of marketing, you have to wonder what marketing actually does in these companies. Many of them are cutting marketing budgets year after year, while reducing full-time employees in marketing continually, even laying off entire marketing departments. While brand building is correctly propounded by almost every company as being critical, there seems to be a lurking suspicion amongst C-suite executives that brand marketing is probably fluffy and a wasteful activity that has no immediate impact, if any at all.

In recent studies, 80 percent of CEOs say that they have no confidence in their marketing team,¹ and 73 percent of CEOs said their marketing team members don’t have business credibility or the ability to generate growth. Many CEOs don’t see value in marketing, or the value that marketing is bringing to the table, and marketers’ presence at the CEO table continues to dwindle.

This is an era when marketing executives are capable of affecting business results, both short term and long term, in unprecedented and powerful ways. Yet, ironically, marketing is facing somewhat of a serious existential reckoning.

This crisis of confidence in marketing is the result of three dynamics.

First, we have the big changes in the marketing landscape, driven by huge technology transformation, tremendous advancement in data analytics, and changes in consumer behavior driven by mobile and social media. Collectively, these have shocked business models and upended traditional strategies.

Second, marketers have not been able to credibly connect business outcomes to their marketing investments and actions. Consequently, their contribution and value became increasingly dubious.

Third, too many marketing executives are stuck in a narrow view of what marketing can do and how it can drive the business. At one end, contemporary marketers are linear, analytical, and obsessed with A-B testing, data crunching, and technology deployment. They couldn’t care less about the classical, foundational elements of marketing like brand positioning, consumer psychology, or creative finesse. They are focused on performance marketing and the outcomes thereof, but not the why behind them. At the other end, you have classical and innovative marketers, who are strong in the traditional areas of marketing, but have no clue about business models, digital technologies, or data analytics. The right mix, and one that has been largely missing, is found in executives who can straddle these two distinct marketing genres, blending the right and left-brain capabilities, combining creative sensibilities with a command of data and technology.

However, marketing is entering its most exciting inflection point ever, the Fifth Paradigm of Marketing, which I call Quantum Marketing. New technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, 5G connectivity, the Internet of Things, smart speakers, wearables, and blockchains are poised to transform consumers’ lives and potentially take marketing’s impact to entirely new levels. At this time, the entire function and discipline of marketing can leapfrog toward astonishing levels of consumer insights, real-time interactions, and hyper-targeted, hyper-relevant consumer engagement. Never has the marketing toolbox been more powerful than now. And the ability of marketing